Sound reproducing and transmitting devices



Oct. 3, 1961 F. B. LENZ ETAL 3,002,781

SOUND REPRODUCING AND TRANSMITTING DEVICES Filed Nov. 25, 1957 INVENTORS. FRANK B. LENZ WILLIAM w. HAERTHER,JR. Bur/72 414 (M Y/ ATTORNEYS SOUND REPRODUCING AND TRANSMITTING DEVICES Frank B. Lenz, St. Charles, and William W. Haerther,

in, Geneva, 11]., assignors to Hawley Products Company, St. Charles, 111., a'corporation of Delaware Filed. Nov. 25, 1957, Ser. No. 698,469 4 Claims. (Cl. 296-1) This invention relates to sound reproducing and transmitting devices and, more particularly, to sound amplifiers for use with radios, record players, and the like.

When radios, record players, and the like, are disposed in automobiles, trucks, or other'vehicles, the speakers used in conjunction therewith are commonly relatively small, the diaphragms thereof being mounted in relatively closely fitting spiders brizhousing's, with little or no horn area projecting forwardly of the speaker.

It is a primary object of our invention to enable an exponential born to be afforded in anautomobile, or the like, in a novel and expeditious manner. a

Speakers heretofore known for use with car radios, and the like, have commonly had relatively small frontal areas, and it is another object of this invention to afford a novel speaker for car radios, and the like, which has a relatively large frontal area.

Because of the relatively small size of speakers commonly used in automobiles, and the like, in order for all the occupants of such a vehicle to hear a radio program or a recording being played over a record player in the vehicle, the volume adjustment of the radio or record player commonly used must be set at such a high output that it causes distortion of the sounds being reproduced. It is another object of this invention to eliminate this disadvantage;

An ancillary object is to afford relatively great sound amplification for car radios, and the like, without causing sound distortion.

A further objectof thisinvention to afford a novel speaker for car radios, and the like, which has a relatively large mouth area.

Another object of our invention is to provide a novel sound amplifying horn having parts constituted and ar-' ranged in a novel and expeditious mannen.

Another. object of the present invention is to enable a novel horn of the aforementioned type to be afforded as an integral structural part commonly found in automobiles, and the like. 1

A further object of our invention is to enable a novel sound reproducing born to be afforded in an automobile, or the like, as a part of the defroster nozzle in a novel and expeditious manner.

Other andfurther objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawing which,

by way of illustration, shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and what we now consider to be the best mode in which we have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a detail sectional view through a portion of an automobile having a sound reproducing and transmitting device therein embodying the principles of our invention; t 7

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a unitarydefroster in a vehicle as shown in FIG. 1;

ited t teS a FIG. 3 is "a fragmentary detail sectional view of the speaker horn taken substantially along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cut away interior perspective view of the automobile shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a detail sectional view taken substantiall the front end of the passenger compartment 3, rearwardly of, and above the hood 4.

Our novel device 1 is shown mounted in the front end portion of the passenger compartment 3 and affords the dashboard 6 of the automobile 2 as will be discussed in greater detail presently. The device 1 comprises a horn or sound transmitting portion? mounted on a dynamic loud speaker 8. The speaker 8 may be of any suitable type commonly available on the market, and it will be seen, as shown in the drawings, that it includes a magnetic structure 9, a housing 10, and a voice coil 11, which voice coil projects from the magnetic structure 9 and is attached to a diaphragm 12 mounted in the housing ill to thereby cause the diaphragm 12 to vibrate during operation of the speaker. The housing 10 has an outwardly projecting annular flange 13 at the front end thereof, and to which the horn portion '7 is attached, as will be discussed in greater detail presently.

The .horn or sound chamber portion 7 is disposed in upright position in the passenger compartment 3 and embodies a lower end portion 14 aifording the throat thereof, and an upwardly opening outwardly flaring upper horn 7. The horn 7 is annular-shaped at the bottom thereof and has an outwardly projecting annular ring 16 on the bottom edge thereof which is preferably of the same size as the annular flange 13 on the housing 10, FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The ring 16 is mounted on the flange 13 and is detachably secured in juxtaposition thereto by suitable means such as bolts or screws 17. The invention contemplates that the defroster nozzle and sound chamber shall be made and sold as a unit separate from the loudspeaker 8.

From the bottom to the top thereof, the horn '7 flares outwardly in all horizontal directions. However, the outward flare of the horn 7 is considerably greater in one direction, which will herein be considered as the width of the device and extends right and left as viewed in FIG. 2, than it is in the direction perpendicular thereto, which will herein be considered as the breadth of the device and extends right and left as viewed in FIG. 1.

The horn 7, as shown in the drawings, is made from two panels 18 and 18a preferably molded by accreting fibers onto a porous former or made by stamping a suit- 1 able sheet material such as, for example, sheet steel.

0 FIG. 1.

These panels 18 and 18a are suitably shaped and connected together at their upwardly extending lateral edges 19 and 20 by suitable means, e.g., by being integrally formed from fibers according to the process of US. Patent No. 2,723,600, or by stapling preform-ed fibrous components, or if made of metal by other suitable means such as welding, (FIGS. 2 and 5). A panel 21, which is preferably formed from the same sheet of material as the panel 1811, projects forwardly from the upper edge of the panel 18a, and then downwardly in forwardly spaced relation thereto, to form a chamber 22 therebetween, The upwardly extending horizontally spaced edges of the panel 21 may be secured to the rear face of the panel 18a, adjacent to the edges 19 and 20, to thereby 3. close the sides of the chamber 22, FIG. 5, and the panel 21 may be secured to the fire wall 23 of the automobile 2 by suitable means such as bolts 24, to thereby support the horn 7 and chamber 22 in upright position in the automobile.

The horn 7 and the panel 21 are of such size that when the panel 21 is attached to the fire wall 23 by the bolts 24, the rearwardly and horizontally extending. portion 25 of the upper end portion of the panel 21 is disposed immediately adjacent to and below the windshield 5. The portion 25 has a plurality of spaced openings or slots 26 extending therethrough, FIGS. 1 and 2, and. a blower 27 may be mounted in the chamber 22 so that during opera tion of the blower 27, air is blown upwardly through the slots 26 in the horizontally extending portion 25 of the panel 21 to thereby act as a defroster for the windshield 5.

The upper end portion 28 of the rear panel 18 of. the speaker horn 7 curves rearwardly and downwardly from substantially the horizontal plane of the bottom of theportion 28 curves outwardly away from the windshield in such a manner that, in eflect, the extension 28 and the windshield 5 afiord an extensionv to the. mouth of the horn 7, to thereby afiord a rearwardly opening mouth of sub.- stantial breadth and width, FIGS. 1 and. 4. Thus, for example, in an automobile wherein the top. of the windshield 5 is in a horizontal plane disposed sixteen inches above the horizontal plane of the top. of the panel. 18, the portion of the windshield 5 disposed directly above the highest point on the panel 18. is approximately twelve inches therefrom. With such construction,v in effect, a mouth is afforded for the speaker horn '7 whichis approximately twelve inches in breadth and. extends substantially the width of the automobile 2.

It will be remembered that the horn. 7 is relatively narrow at the bottom and flares outwardly in. all. directions to a relatively large upper end portion. For example, in one speaker, considered suitable for practical use,.the bottom. end of the horn 7 may have an inside, diameter of two inches, with the horn flaring outwardly to a breadth of three inches and a width of fifty-five inches at the top of the panels 1% and 18a, and with the vertical length of the horn between the flange. 16 andthe top. of the panels 18'and 18a being approximately twenty inches. With such construction, the length of the horizontally extending portion of the panel 21 is preferably substantially. the.

same as the width of the upper end of the horn 7, FIG. 2, and the portion 25 may be of a suitable breadth as, for example, three inches.

In installing the device 1 in the automobile 2, the drive motor 8 is preferably suspended from the bottom of the throat portion lid above, but immediately adjacent to the floorboard 29, substantially midway between the sides of the automobile 2. Likewise, the blower 27 may be suspended in the passageway 22 abovethe floorboards 29.. However, it will be appreciated by thoses'killed in the art that both the driving motor 8- and the blower 27 may be mounted on or in the floorboards 29, or otherwise supported in the automobile 2 without departing from the purview of this invention.

Also, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the. art that, if desired, the horn '7 may be directly connected to the firewall 23, without affording the passageway 22 and the extension panel 21, without departing from the purview of our invention, the showing. of the. combination speaker horn and defroster unit in the drawings being ,4 merely by way of illustration of the'preferred form of our invention, and our invention, in its broader aspects, not being specifically limited thereto.

It will be seen that, with our invention, we have enabled a novel, effective and practical, exponential speaker horn for car radios, and like sound reproducing devices to be afforded, which will afiord practical and effective amplification of sounds reproduced by such sound reproducing devices. v 7

Thus, while we have illustrated and described the pre ferred embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that this is capable of. variation and modification, and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail ourselves of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a passenger compartment, sound reproducing means, and an upwardly and outwardly flaring housing mounted in said compartment above said sound reproducing means, said housing having two chambers therein, one of said chambers being in the form of an upwardly opening air duct, and the other of said chambers being in the form of. an. exponential speaker horn for said sound reproducing means and having. a throat portion and an upwardly opening bell portion,v said throat portion being operativelyconnected to said sound reproducing means.

2. In a passenger compartment having a dashboard, sound reproducing means located behind and below said dashboard and means in the form of an exponential speaker horn having a. throat portion connected to said sound reproducing means and an upwardly extending outwardly flaring bell portion having an opening adapted to transmit sound waves from said throat portion through said opening to the interior of said compartment, the upper part of said. bell portion adjacent said opening being integrally formed with said dashboard.

3. In a passenger compartment having a dashboard, sound reproducing means located behind and below said dashboard and means in the form of an exponential speaker horn having a throat portion connected to said sound reproducing means and an upwardly extending outwardly flaring. bell portion having an opening adapted to transmit sound wavesfrom said throatportion through said opening to the interior of said compartment, the upper part of said bellportion adjacent said opening being integrally formed. withsaidgdashboard, and awindshield forwardly adjacent. and. partially above said openhig adapted. to. direct. sounds. coming: from said opening toward the rear of said; compartment.

4. in a passenger compartment having a dashboard,

sound reproducing means located behind and below said.

dashboard and: means. in the. form of an exponential speaker horn having a throat portion connected to said sound. reproducing means and. an upwardly extending outwardly flaring bell portion having an opening adapted to transmit sound waves from saidithroat. portion through said opening to the interior of said compartment, the upper part of-saidibe'llportion' adjacent said opening being integrally formed. with said dashboard, a windshield forwardly adjacent and partially above said opening adapted to direct sounds coming from said: opening toward the rear of said compartment, andmeans for forcing air upwardly against said windshield at a point between said opening and said windshield.

References Citedin. the file. of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,614,983 Fullerv Jan. 18, 1927 1,692,994 Mattis Nov. 27, 1928 1,732,451 Walters et a1. Oct. 22, 1929 2,077,284 Te Pas Apr. 13, 1937 2,253,671 Whitney Aug. 26, 1941 2,588,086 Cole Mar. 4, 1952 

